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James Loken
1990 - Present
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James B. Loken is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He joined the court in 1990 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush. Loken served as chief judge of the court from 2003 to 2010.[1]
Early life and education
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Loken graduated from the University of Wisconsin with his B.S. in 1962 and from Harvard Law School with his LL.B. in 1965.[1]
Professional career
- 1990 - Present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
- 2003-2010: Chief judge
- 1973-1990: Private practice, Minneapolis, Minn.
- 1970-1972: Staff assistant, President Richard M. Nixon
- 1970: General counsel, President's Committee on Consumer Interests
- 1967-1970: Private practice, Minneapolis, Minn.
- 1966-1967: Law clerk, Hon. Byron White, Supreme Court of the United States
- 1965-1966: Law clerk, Hon. J. Edward Lumbard, United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit[1]
Judicial career
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: James B. Loken |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 32 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: September 10, 1990
|
| ABA Rating: Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: October 5, 1990
|
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: October 11, 1990
|
| Confirmed: October 12, 1990
|
| Vote: Unanimous consent
|
Loken was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by former President George H.W. Bush on September 10, 1990, to a seat vacated by Gerald Heaney. The American Bar Association rated Loken Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Loken's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 5, 1990, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on October 11, 1990. Loken was confirmed on the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on October 12, 1990, and he received his commission on October 17, 1990. Loken served as chief judge of the court from 2003 to 2010.[1][3]
Noteworthy cases
SCOTUS reverses 8th Circuit on free exercise case (2017)
On June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, an appeal of a judgment of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Judge James Loken wrote the opinion of the panel. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offered grants through its solid waste management program to qualifying organizations to purchase recycled tires in order to resurface playgrounds. The Learning Center, a licensed preschool and daycare center of Trinity Lutheran Church, applied for a grant under the program but was denied. The DNR claimed that the department was prohibited from providing financial assistance directly to the church under Article I, Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution. Trinity Lutheran claimed that denying funds for a neutral, secular purpose on the basis of religion was a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. In his opinion for the panel upholding the DNR's plan, Judge Loken wrote, "the issue here is not what the State is constitutionally permitted to do, but whether the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, or the Equal Protection Clause compel Missouri to provide public grant money directly to a church, contravening a long-standing state constitutional provision that is not unique to Missouri. No Supreme Court case ... has granted such relief."
Writing for a seven-justice majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts reversed the circuit panel. The chief justice wrote, "The State in this case expressly requires Trinity Lutheran to renounce its religious character in order to participate in an otherwise generally available public benefit program, for which it is fully qualified. Our cases make clear that such a condition imposes a penalty on the free exercise of religion that must be subjected to the 'most rigorous' scrutiny. ... Under that stringent standard, only a state interest 'of the highest order' can justify the Department’s discriminatory policy. ... Yet the Department offers nothing more than Missouri’s policy preference for skating as far as possible from religious establishment concerns. ... In the face of the clear infringement on free exercise before us, that interest cannot qualify as compelling."[4]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 101st Congress," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1481 - James B. Loken - The Judiciary," accessed July 26, 2016
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, June 26, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit 1990-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 |
Barksdale • Bonner • Buckwalter • Cyr • Fernandez • Garbis • Harmon • Lee • Lindberg • Lodge • Nelson • Nottingham • Plager • Rosen • Rymer • Smith • Spatt • Thomas • VanBebber • J. Walker • V. Walker • Wiener • Wright | ||
| 1990 |
Alito • Amon • Birch • Boudin • Cleland • Clevenger • Dubina • Hamilton • Henderson • Hood • Hornby • Jones • Kent • Levi • Loken • Lourie • Martin • McBryde • McClure • McKenna • McLaughlin • McNamee • Moreno • Mullen • Nelson • Nickerson • Niemeyer • Norton • Parker • Pickering • Rader • Rainey • Randolph • Shanstrom • Shedd • Shubb • Singleton • Skretny • Souter • Sparr • Stahl • Stamp • Suhrheinrich • Taylor • Vollmer • Ware • Wilson | ||
| 1991 |
Albritton • Andersen • Armstrong • Arnold • Bartle • Bassler • Batchelder • Beckwith • Belot • Benson • Blackburn • Bramlette • Brody • Brody • Burrell • Carnes • Caulfield • Cauthron • Clement • Collier • Conway • Cooper • Dalzell • DeMent • DeMoss • Doherty • Echols • Edmunds • Faber • Freeh • Gaitan • Garza • Graham • Haik • Hamilton • Hansen • Hendren • Herlong • Highsmith • Hogan • Huff • Hurley • Irenas • Johnson • Joyner • Kelly • Kleinfeld • Legg • Leonard • Lewis • Longstaff • Lungstrum • Luttig • Matia • McCalla • McDade • McKeague • McKelvie • Means • Merryday • Moore • Morgan • Nielsen • Nimmons • Osteen Sr. • Padova • Payne • Reinhard • Robinson • Robreno • Roll • Roth • Schlesinger • Scullin • Siler • Solis • Sotomayor • Sparks • Stohr • Thomas • Traxler • Trimble • Ungaro • Van Sickle • Wanger • Werlein • Whyte • Yohn | ||
| 1992 |
Baird • Barbadoro • Black • Boudin • Carnes • Covello • DiClerico • Gilbert • Gonzalez • Gorton • Hansen • Heyburn • Jackson • Jacobs • Keeley • Kendall • Kopf • Kyle • Lewis • McAuliffe • McLaughlin • Melloy • Preska • Quist • Randa • Rosenthal • Rovner • Schall • Sedwick • Simandle • Stahl • Vratil • Williams | ||
